How I got Full Scholarship for MBA

Is it possible to get full scholarship for an MBA program? 

Everyone said it would be impossible. Everyone thought it was just my 'fantasy' that I would get a full scholarship for MBA. But guess what... I have finally got it! The road was not easy, and I embraced 'slice of luck' at times, but here I am, writing about my journey sitting in Hawaii while enjoying the stunning beauty here, all for free! I'll share my story here. You may take something out of it, but please keep in mind that not everything I did was 'ideal' way of doing things! 

My background:  

Undergrads: 

I am from Bangladesh. I had an 'average' profile when it comes to academic achievements. I completed my Bachelor's Degree on 2010 from North South University, one of the countries leading business schools. My majors were International Business and Marketing. My undergrad CGPA was just above 3.0 which is often the 'minimum qualifying CGPA' to apply in most of the business schools. 

Work Experience: 

During last year of my undergrad I started my own web design business which I continued full time for seven months after my graduation. In the meantime I got a very good job offer from a private Bank in Bangladesh which I could not turn down. Therefore, I joined the Bank and served there for 3 years. However I continued my entrepreneurial activities as a part-time side business the whole time [not recommended, more on it here]. 

Extra-Curricular activities and Awards: 

Apart from studies and work I have been involved in extra curricular activities as well which added a lot of value to my applications. While choosing what extra curricular activities I want to do, I simply followed my passion. One of the things I genuinely like is to just read. I am a big fan of all kinds of fictions and articles. I keep on reading something all the time no matter what [and it did cost me at times at past]. So, it's not a surprise that I like to write too! Writing contests have always attracted me and I won a few competitions. 

In addition, throughout my student life and beyond I have performed voluntary roles in student clubs and community service activities. So, my resume has two impressive sections titled 'Awards' and 'Community Involvements'. And you know what's the best part? I got these all from doing things I always loved to do. Rewarding, huh? 

Early days: 

Preparing for a Master's degree abroad is a lengthy process - I learned it the hard way. It was not until after I completed my undergrads when I started acquiring information for the Master's degree abroad. For me it was an opportunity to experience a different kind of lifestyle abroad for couple of years, not merely as time to earn an academic degree. I was open to attending any Master's degree program in Business, not necessarily just the MBA. However, I didn't have enough money to attend the Master's program abroad without a scholarship.

I knew that there were a number of scholarships available for graduate students, but not so many for business graduate students, let alone MBAs! But somehow I came to know about ADB-JSP scholarship in 2010. ADB-JSP funded graduate programs in selected partner universities across the globe. If the application were accepted by the partner university, ADB would award the scholarship given that the applicant met other ADB conditions and criteria. The criteria appeared 'achievable' and I targeted this particular scholarship from then. However, I had to prepare a lot. 

Tests: 

To get admission to most business schools, I had to get GMAT, IELTS and at least 2 years of work experiences. I had none. I decided that over the following couple of years I would complete IELTS and GMAT while being in a full-time job. I targeted 7.5 in IELTS and was confident enough to hit the target. So I just took the test only to obtain 7.0 which wasn't a deal-breaker either. But I was challenged big time by GMAT. I tried my best to prepare well for GMAT while working full-time, but sometimes it proved too much of work. Anyway time was running out and I decided to take the test. I ended up getting 570 where my target was 700. It was a big setback. 

Application:  

So, in November-2013, my profile looked like this:

• Undergrad CGPA: 3.03
• IELTS: 7.0
• GMAT: 570
• Work Experience: Almost 3 years
• Awards and Community involvements: Impressive

It did not look like a very strong applicant's profile to me, particularly with the poor GMAT score; but there was hardly anything else I could do about it. Well, actually there was another thing still to add to my application - the essays. 

Every school required essays and I realized that my writing could just take me over the line. So I decided to break free and write the unconventional way. I didn't have much to brag about myself. Honesty was the best policy. I just wanted to make sure that whatever I wrote sounded genuine and intriguing. Example? One of the questions asked me to explain my most difficult time in life. I simply wrote about my breakup of a long-term relationship. It was true and I was able to explain how it made me stronger. I took the same brave approach for all four essays I wrote for the school and five I wrote for ADB. Why did I take this approach? May be because I had nothing to loose.

Final result:  

The application review process was lengthy and had five different steps steps to go through. I received notification after each steps that just made me more nervous! My efforts of three years finally paid off in a bright morning of June-2014 when I finally heard back from ADB. They gave me the best news ever: I was chosen as an ADB-JSP fellow! The scholarship would cover my tuition, housing, insurance, travel and all other related costs while providing me with a monthly allowance. 

Take-aways:

• Do not stop believing in yourself:

  As you can learn from my story, fantasies do come true! So, please move on no matter what. Do not feel bad about things you cannot do much to change.

• Understand the scholarship criteria and choose right school:

  Each scholarship follows different criteria to award candidates. You need to find the right one for yourself. In my case, Asian Development Bank - Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) was a perfect fit because I was a citizen of an ADB-member country and therefore, I was competing with other Asian candidates only to get it. Also, choosing the right school was crucial. To make anything happen I had to make sure that I get the admission in the school. So, I chose a mid-tier B-school, instead of the other top-tier ones in ADB's partner university list.

• Have a strong application package:

  As you may already have learned from my story and numerous others' stories, one or two weak links in the application might not be the end of the world. It is called 'application package' for a reason. You can always overcome weakness in one section with strength in other section(s).

• Give your best at essays:

  Your performance in standardized tests, your work experience and all other things in your resume may still prove to be inadequate if your essays are not good enough. You can hit the bull's eye with a dynamic essay more easily than you can do it with the static resume. This is true for any school, any scholarship, any time. So, pay extra attention while writing Statement of Purpose and other essays for the application.